Green Roof Industry is showing to Energy Ministers that Green roofs and walls are important element to provide advanced energy efficiency in the buildings

The Informal High-Level Meeting on Energy Efficiency in the Mediterranean is taking place in the Grand Master’s Palace, Valletta (Malta) on 18 and 19 May.

This two days meeting gathers Energy Ministers and their delegations from the 43 States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), i.e. EU28, North Africa and Mediterranean Middle East. It is co-organized by the European Commission, the UfM, the Maltese EU Presidency and the Kingdom of Jordan.

We are glad, that also Knauf Insulation has been invited to talk and provide own view on future energy efficient buildings, pointing out specifically green urban infrastructure as driver of the energy efficiency in buildings and big cities.

Jure Šumi, Business Development Director Green Solutions, Knauf Insulation said: “There are so many measures that homeowners and businesses can take to save energy and reduce their environmental footprint. One of the most effective and interesting ways of doing this is through green roofs. As roofs are the sites of the greatest heat loss in the winter and the hottest temperatures in the summer, green roofs help both - keep the cold out in the winter and reject heat to enter in the summer. They have many other energy benefits as well, amongst others they can dramatically reduce the roof temperatures (lower Urban Heat Island) which consequently leads to much more efficient air-conditioning and PV energy generation when AC units and/or Photo-Voltaic panels are put on the roof.

There are further benefits to be considered which go even beyond energy efficiency including noise reduction, improved storm water management and improved air quality in cities. We have invested major R&D resources in to our range of Urbanscape® Green Roof Systems in order to be able to measure all that and provide construction engineers, architects and urban planners with state of the art data and proof that Green Roofs mater. And they also look fantastic too”

Mrs. Monica Frassoni, President of the European Alliance to Save Energy and a co-chair of the European Green Party has been happy to see that Knauf Insulation has been presenting new views on Green Building Envelope which are well beyond thermal insulation: “It is great to work with Knauf Insulation. Along with other members of the European Alliance to Save Energy they have been at the forefront of our campaign for energy efficiency in Europe since the creation of the Alliance back in 2010. They are an excellent example of why green business is good for Europe, for European citizens but most importantly for the future of our planet”.

The feedback from Energy Ministers has been in general positive, especially as the energy efficiency in case of Green Roofs means much more than just saving energy.

At the same time we are all aware that getting cities more green requires more coordinated approach by the green industry on the highest levels. Unfortunately Green Roofs and their benefits are still not fully recognized as a serious element for energy efficiency, storm-water control or bio-diversity… A stronger global alliance and presence on the legislation map is needed.